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JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


l-LB  i  0  1902 


A  Horse  Book 


BY 

MARY   TOURTEL 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1901, 
BY  Frederick  A.  Stokes  Company. 

Published  October^  igoj. 


CONTENTS. 

I. 

Ai  Play  . 

2. 

Schooling 

3 

Cleverness 

4. 

Willingness 

5- 

Wilfulness 

6. 

Intelligence 

7- 

Kicking 

8. 

Gentleness 

9- 

Biting 

10. 

Toiling    . 

II. 

Hunting 

12 

Duty 

13- 

Rearing 

14. 

Sagacity 

15 

Bolting    . 

16 

Patience 

17- 

Bucking 

18. 

Perseverance  . 

19 

Jibbing    . 

20 

Service    . 

21. 

Shying    . 

22. 

Curiosity 

23- 

Friendship 

24 

Old  Age 

« 

PAGE 
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26 

30 

34 
38 
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46 

50 

54 

58 
62 

66 

70 

74 

78 
82 

86 

90 

94 


i^„  \ 


M.T. 


AT   PLAY. 

Three  little  foals  you  see  at  play. 
They  romp  and  sport  all  through 

the  day, 
But    sometimes    they  are  most 

sedate 
And  try  to    ape  their  mothers' 

gait. 

They  wheel   and   race  and   leap 

and  prance, 
And  sometimes  they  are  said  to 

dance  : 
But  always  they  will   stand  and 

stare 
At  anyone  who  passes  there. 


SCHOOLING. 

The   horse,  like  us,  must    go  to 

school 
To  learn  by  precept  and  by  rule. 
Like  us,   he  does  not    love  the 

work, 
Like  us,  he's  not  allowed  to  shirk. 

This  little    Instrument  you   see 
Strapped   on    his   back,    shaped 

like  a  V, 
Is  a  ''  Dumb  Jockey"  meant  to 

train 
The  horse  to  bear  the  bit  and 

rein. 


CLEVERNESS. 

Billy,  the  circus  pony,  can 
DistlncTuish  letters  like  a  man  : 
He'll  hold  up  for  you  in  the  ring 
His   D  for    Dunce    and    K    for 
Kino^. 

o 

With   P  for  Pony  he  will  show 
That  he  his  family  name  doth 

know  ; 
And  he  will  find  the  C  for  clown 
And  at  his  feet  will  put  it  down. 


II 


WILLINGNESS. 

Althoiiorh  this  horse  Is  clolnor  all 
he  can  to  drag  his  heavy  load  up 
the  hill,  the  lazy  boy  who  is  wal- 
king beside  him,  with  one  hand 
in  his  pocket,  beats  him  cruelly 
with  the  stick  which  he  carries. 
The  boy  is  too  silly  or  to  care- 
less to  see  how  willingly  the 
the  horse  is  workinof. 


lA 


WILFULNESS. 

A  Horse's  great  red-letter  days 
Are    days  of  hunting,   when  his 

ways 
Are  often  very  wilful.      Here 
See  this    John    Gilpin  in    great 

fear. 

He    came    out  just  to  see  the 

Meet, 
But  the  horse  tlioucrht  he  would 

compete 
With  horses,  hounds  and  fox  for 

place, 
And  led  the    man    this    madcap 

race. 


19 


INTELLIGENCE. 

On  the  prairies  in  the  Far 
West  of  America  a  man  lost  his 
way.  He  had  no  water  to  drink, 
although  both  he  and  his  horse 
were  parched  with  thirst.  Not 
knowing  where  to  find  water,  he 
cast  the  reins  on  the  neck  of  his 
horse.  By  means  of  that  won- 
derful intellio^ence  which  some 
people  wrongly  call  instinct,  the 
horse  found  his  way  to  a  spring, 
although  it  was  many  miles  dis- 
tant. Thus  both  man  and  horse 
were  able  to  quench  their  thirst, 
and  in  this  way  their  lives  were 
saved. 


22 


KICKING. 

These  two  are  very  much  dis- 
mayed 

To  see  the  fuss  their  horse  has 
made 

Because  this  dog  in  playful  mood 

Barked  in  a  manner  rather  rude. 

It  is  a  thinof  some  horses  do 
Until  the  driver  makes  them  rue 
Their  fits  of  temper.     Then  they 

say 
That    kickinof  doesn't    seem   to 

pay. 


27 


GENTLENESS. 

These  bio- cart  horses  and  these 
little  children  are  great  friends. 
Although  the  horses  are  so  bier, 
they  are  very  gentle,  and  allow 
the  carter's  children  to  lead  them 
home  in  the  evening,  or  to  ride 
on  their  backs. 


30 


BITING. 

Peggy  Is  the  children's  pride, 
And  she  allows  them  all  to  ride. 

She   comes    to    them    whene'er 

they  call, 
And  loves  to  have   them  In   her 

stall. 

With  others  she  has  wilful  ways. 
She  will  be  cross   with  John    for 

clays, 
Will  kick  and  squeal,  will    show 

much  spite, 
And  very  often  try  to  bite. 


35 


TOILING. 

These  three  horses  are 
ploughing  an  upland  field.  They 
are  thoroughly  enjoying  them- 
selves, for  they  are  so  strong  that 
their  work  is  a  pleasure  to  them. 
The  ploughman  is  guiding  the 
plough,  so  as  to  keep  the  furrows 
straio^ht.  The  rooks  are  soarinor 
round  in  search  of  grubs  found 
in  the  earth  which  is  turned  up 
by  the  plough. 


3^ 


HUNTING. 

What  sweeter  sound   on  winter 

morn 
Than   music  of  the  hounds   and 

horn  ? 
What    prettier    sight  could    e're 

be  seen 
Than  hounds  and  horses  on  the 

crreen  ? 

See  winding  down    this  country 

way 
An  eager  throng  one  winter  day. 
Keen  are  the    men  for    sport  of 

course, 
But  just    as  keen    each    hound 

and  horse. 


43 


DUTY. 

The  troop-horse,  like  all  sol- 
diers, has  to  learn  his  drill  till  he 
becomes  as  efficient  as  his  rider. 
In  war  he  will  take  his  place  in 
his  squadron  should  his  rider 
have  been  killed  or  wounded 
In  one  instance,  several  guns  of 
the  Royal  Horse  Artillery  were 
saved  by  the  teams  galloping- 
back  to  their  lines  after  all  the 
eunners  and  drivers  had  been 
shot  down. 


46 


REARING. 

Rearln<:>-  is  an  awkard  vice, 
No  rider  ever  thinks  it  nice. 
When  the  horse  prances  on  two 

feet 
It's  difficult  to  keep  one's  seat. 

This  lady  riding-  In  the  Row 

Is  a  good  rider,  you  must  know. 

When  on    two    lecfs    her    horse 

would  soar 
She  quickly  brings  him  down  to 

four. 


51 


SAGACITY. 

There  is  danger  at  this  place 
which  the  horse  can  see,  but 
which  the  rider  fails  to  detect. 
They  are  in  the  midst  of  a  swamp 
where  one  false  step  would  mean 
a  horrible  death  in  the  quagmire 
on  the  verge  of  which  the  horse 
has  pulled  up.  The  man  uses 
whip  and  spur,  but  the  horse 
refuses  to  move.  Finally  the 
rider  leaves  the  horse  to  himself 
to  find  a  way  round  which  brings 
them  both  to  safety. 


54 


BOLTING. 

See  this  runaway    flecked    with 

foam 
Galloping    fast    as    he    can    for 

home, 
Carinof  nouoht  for  the  shoutlnor 

man 
Running  also  as  fast  as  he  can. 

Flung  by  the  bolter  on  the  road- 
side 

Small  is  his  chance  of  a  pleasant 
ride. 

Two  legs  matched  in  a  race 
with  four — 

Perhaps  they'll  meet  at  the 
stable  door. 


59 


PATIENCE. 

The  cab  horse  is  a  useful  steed, 
Ever  handy,  good  at  need — 
A  patient  uncomplaining  jade, 
What  should  we  do  without  his 
aid  ? 

By  day,  by  night  he  may  be  had. 
Be  the   weather   oood    or  be  it 

bad. 
Many  a  knock  and  many  a  fall 
He  gets,  and  yet  survives  them 

all. 


62 


WWWJ] 


BUCKING. 

When  horses  buck  they    take  a 

bound 
With  all  their  four  feet  off  the 

ground. 
Unless  they  know  just  what  to 

do 
And  how  to  keep  their  seats  all 

throutrh 

The   riders    come   off    fast    and 

thick 
When  horses  start  this    Yankee 

trick. 
But    with   the    cowboys  of    the 

West 
The  horses  come  off  second  best. 


67 


PERSEVERANCE. 

The  horse  affords  the  best 
example  amongst  animals  of 
perseverance  ;  he  will  go  on  un- 
til he  falls  exhausted  or  dead. 
On  the  Yorkshire  moors,  after 
a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  the  roads 
are  quite  lost,  and  it  often  hap- 
pens that  the  mailman  has  to 
unharness  his  horse  (the  cart 
being  blocked  by  the  snow,)  and 
trust  to  the  horse's  courage  and 
endurance  to  carry  the  mails  from 
village  to  village.  It  has  been 
known  that  the  driver  has  been 
overcome  by  the  intense  cold, 
when  the  horse  has  found  his 
way  unaided  to  the  nearest  ac- 
customed  stopping  place. 

70 


JIBBING. 

Of  all  the  tiresome  steeds  that 

are 
The  jibber  is  the  worst  by  far. 
He  stands  and  contemplates  the 

scene — 
An  act  embarrassing  and  mean. 

And  nine  times  out  of  ten  he 
chooses 

An  awkward  spot  when  he  re- 
fuses 

To  move.  To  cure  him,  take 
him  out 

And  turn  the  jibber  round  about. 


75 


SERVICE. 

The  Bus  horse  does  not    work 

all  day, 
For  if  he  did  he'd  waste  away. 
He  does    his    work  and   then   is 

able 
To  take  a  long  rest  in  the  stable. 

When  summer  suns  beat  down 
upon  it 

His  head  is  sheltered  by  a  bon- 
net ; 

And  thouixh  it  makes  him  look 
a  duffer, 

He  hasn't  half  the  heat  to  suffer. 


78 


iH 


n.T., 


■w, 


/> 


SHYING. 


ii 


A  wicked  horse,"  perhaps  you 
say, 
"  To  shy  In   such  a  sudden  way. 
And  ahnost  make  his  rider  fall. 
It  Is  not  nice  of  him  at  all." 

It  was  not  wickedness  but  fear; 
That  dreadful  white  thinof  rush- 

ino^  near 
Appeared  to  his  affrighted  eyes 
Full  seven  times  Its  proper  size. 


83 


CURIOSITY. 

All  horses  very  curious  are 
And  things  which  they  espy  afar 
Arouse  their  curiosity  ; 
They    wonder    what    on    earth 
they  see. 

With  ears  pricked  up  and  cau- 
tious mien 

They  come  to  see.  When  they 
have  seen, 

They  snort  and  turn  and  off 
they  scurry 

In  a  contemptuous  desperate 
hurry. 


86 


FRIENDSHIP. 

A  beautiful  race  horse  became 
very  much  attached  to  a  cat. 
So  much  so  that  he  was  never 
happy  unless  the  cat  was  near 
him,  either  sleeping  curled  up  on 
his  back  or  somewhere  in  his 
stall.  They  became  such  close 
companions  that  when  the  horse 
was  taken  abroad  to  run  in  some 
races  for  which  he  had  been  en- 
tered, he  became  so  dejected  at 
being  separated  from  his  com- 
panion that  it  was  found  nec^ 
essary  that  the  cat  should  always 
accompany  him  in  his  horse-box 
wherever  he  went. 


91 


OLD  AGE. 

This  horse's  working  days  are 
o'er 

The  shafts  and  saddle  never- 
more 

Shall  hold  him.  Here  he  waits 
his  end 

Cared  for  by  those  who  love  to 
tend 

An  old    companion.      He    may 

rest 
In  his    loose   box    or    take    the 

best 
Of  grazing  which  the    meadows 


oive 


A  pensioner  while  he  shall  live. 


94 


